Hotel Marketing Blog
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Posted on Aug 15th 2013 by Bryan Marsh
Social media has transformed the face of customer service for good. Disgruntled consumers now have more options than ever when it comes to letting you -and everyone else - know their gripes with your service....
Posted on Jul 26th 2013 by Guest Blogger - Ashley Verrill
Online Travel Agencies (OTAs) and booking channels such as Booking.com, Webjet and Wotif.com have been a boon for the hospitality industry, providing a proven conduit for filling up rooms that would have otherwise stayed empty.......
Posted on May 29th 2013 by Ashlee Hume
If you've been concerned about sending email campaigns for those Winter Specials to guests who have already booked, your worries are over. Introducing iLaunch's new 'database exclusion' functionality which allows you to import a database of particular con...
Posted on May 21st 2013 by Ashlee Hume
In today's society, email marketing continues to be the most popular digital marketing channel among businesses, so it is fair to say that when you do it, you want to be doing it right. So what is considered to be great email marketing? Images, content,...
Posted on Mar 14th 2013 by Ashlee Hume
When was the last time you heard someone say 'I really do love being marketed to'? Probably never. If you take a moment to think about the things you love...chances are your guests feel exactly the same. The idea behind this so called 'loveable marketing'...
Posted on Mar 14th 2013 by Bryan Marsh
Just a few days after Facebook unveiled Graph Search, its new Bing-powered product which uses 'Likes' to create a personalised social search experience, Bing announced that it willnow incorporate 5x more social content from Facebook into its own search re...
Posted on Mar 14th 2013 by Bryan Marsh
As we've discussed in recent blogs, Facebook has recently launched Graph Search, a move that suggests the world's favourite social network is at last getting serious about search.However, although it may look like Facebook is finally stepping up to challe...
Posted on Feb 28th 2013 by Bryan Marsh
Your website needs to grab visitors' attention, communicate your message and spark the viewer's interest...and all within the blink of an eye. This is the dreaded 'Blink Test' of online marketing, the 3-5 seconds it takes for a visitor to land on your web...
Posted on Feb 22nd 2013 by Ashlee Hume
Pick me, pick me! It's the endless task of trying to get subscribers to not only open your emails but also to take action. In the second half (July - December) of 2012, Unique Open Rates across the board were reported at 21.95% (Source: www.vision6.com.au...
Posted on Feb 19th 2013 by Bryan Marsh
Google has recently revamped the design of its Analytics interface, streamlining several features that were strewn across different tabs and making it a more coherent, easy to use product. Here is a run through of the most prominent changes....
Posted on Jan 30th 2013 by Bryan Marsh
Guest reviews are a hugely valuable way to improve your booking rate, with research showing that 61% of internet users seek out reviews before parting with their cash online, while as many as 63% say they are more likely to buy from a website that feature...
Posted on Jan 25th 2013 by Bryan Marsh
Facebook Graph Search, as we covered in a recent blog, is the latest development in social search. Unlike a traditional search engine such as Google, which traverses vast search archives to find relevant information on topics, Graph Search allows Facebook...
Posted on Jan 24th 2013 by Bryan Marsh
Facebook has recently unveiled Facebook Graph Search, a new feature which demonstrates that the social network is finally getting serious about search....
Posted on Jan 23rd 2013 by Bryan Marsh
There's no doubt about it, style is almost as important as substance when it comes to the success of your online marketing campaign. However, the cost of design software, as well as the time it takes to actually work out how to use it, can make it all too...
Posted on Jan 22nd 2013 by Bryan Marsh
There's no doubt about it, landing pages and lead capture forms are two of the most crucial lead generation tools at your disposal. Of course, there are a few things to bear in mind when it comes to creating and optimising your landing pages for the bes...
Posted on Jan 21st 2013 by Ashlee Hume
Sometime around the end of last year, rumour had it that email was somewhat dead. What? It can't be? Exactly! It is in fact still very much thriving, which means for us, that email marketing is still an extremely powerful tool to connect with guests and...
Posted on Jan 10th 2013 by Bryan Marsh
Until recently, good SEO has been all about implementing the same tried and test techniques to get your website noticed by the search engines. Moving forward, getting noticed will be less about keyword insertion and H1 tags, and more about capitalising on...
Posted on Jan 9th 2013 by Bryan Marsh
Now that Google is rolling out Hotel Finder on a worldwide scale, it's time to pay attention to your hotel's Google Hotel Finder page. Because the product's initial feed of data was collected from sites like Yelp.com, online travel agencies and GDS repr...
Posted on Jan 8th 2013 by Bryan Marsh
The following OTAs and GDSs can be used to get your hotel rooms and rates listed on Google Hotel Finder. As we find more GDS or OTAs connected to Hotel Finder we'll update the list....
Posted on Jan 8th 2013 by Bryan Marsh
New research shows that people are increasingly using mobile devices to access their emails. While this brings fresh challenges for marketers trying to capitalise on the platform, it also provides a wealth of new opportunities with the rise of m-commerce...
Posted on Dec 17th 2012 by Bryan Marsh
Google's Hotel Finder product has recently become available on a global scale and the company is beginning to display Google Hotel results in regular search engine results pages....
Posted on Dec 17th 2012 by Ashlee Hume
So you've created a fantastic email campaign, you're offering unbeatable deals, showcasing your hotel or resort with stunning imagery and content and it's now on its way to everyone in your database....
Posted on Dec 13th 2012 by Ashlee Hume
I'm sure you've questioned how effective personalising an email subject line actually is. Does including something as simple as the recipient's name really work? Well, it is definitely one way to make your email stand out when someone is scanning their bu...
Posted on Nov 20th 2012 by Bryan Marsh
Facebook has recently launched Sponsored Results; its own version of pay per click search ads. The new feature allows businesses to promote their brands by paying to display ads in search results alongside related Apps, Pages and Places. Advertisers who t...
Posted on Nov 20th 2012 by Bryan Marsh
If you're ever in doubt about the power of social media as a marketing tool for your resort, here's yet more proof. Marketing research company Lab24 recently conducted a survey which asked 1000 social network users to reflect on the way they interact with...
Posted on Nov 19th 2012 by Bryan Marsh
If you've noticed the click-through rates on your email marketing campaigns have take a nose dive recently, it's time to inject some creativity into the special promotions you're sending your guests. So what kind of deals can you send? Take a look at the...
Posted on Nov 7th 2012 by Lee Tester
What makes a special attractive and sell to your audience? That is the key question. Is it price? Is it the inclusion? Is it the way it is presented? The answer is simple, it is all of them. There is no use advertising or promoting a special on your websi...
Posted on Nov 5th 2012 by Lee Tester
Social Media is really a bit of a buzz at the moment. There are a number of clients who have asked eTourism to setup Facebook and Twitter accounts on their websites for them only to ask the question 'What Now?" Firstly be under no impression that you are...
Posted on Oct 17th 2012 by Lee Tester
We are continually looking at ways to communicate information in a better way to our clients so that they are fully informed on their bookings. This week, on our latest release, we have upgraded our eTourism Online Daily Booking Report to include some new...
Posted on Oct 16th 2012 by Allan Gaddi
Meta tags are html codes that contain your pages' metadata. They are meant to convey additional data for use by web browsers, search engines, and the like. They are the insider information, so to speak....
Posted on Oct 10th 2012 by Bryan Marsh
If you want to get more out of your blogging campaign, but don't have the time to produce more content, you'll be pleased to hear there are plenty of things you can do to take your hotel's blog to the next level, without spending hours slaving over the ke...
Posted on Oct 4th 2012 by Bryan Marsh
We've posted a number of times on the importance of using email segmentation to create highly targeted marketing campaigns for specific guests groups. Today, we are pleased to announce the launch of Guest Connect, a new module within the iLaunch Content...
Posted on Oct 3rd 2012 by Lee Tester
At eTourism we are constantly looking at ways to improve how we promote specials and grow your sales. In our latest upgrade, we have added in 'Flames' to promote your specials in the booking engine. This is something that we have been using in eTourism Ho...
Posted on Sep 27th 2012 by Bryan Marsh
We've already discussed the importance of using segmentation to categorise your contact database and create tailored email marketing campaigns that target specific guest groups. You might choose to segment your leads based on demographic information such...
Posted on Sep 25th 2012 by Bryan Marsh
As Facebook, Twitter and Tumblr continue to hog the spotlight, blogging has taken a backseat in the online marketing world. Despite this, blogs remain one of the best ways to improve your website's search ranking, create links, share content and open up t...
Posted on Sep 18th 2012 by Bryan Marsh
As you have probably heard by now, "to attract links you need great content." But defining what it is exactly that makes great content is not always so easy. Bad content, however, typically follows the same patterns, making it easy to spot and avoid....
Posted on Sep 18th 2012 by Bryan Marsh
Nearly a year after its acquisition of restaurant review and ratings service Zagat Survey, Google has announced it is buying travel guidebook brand Frommer's....
Posted on Sep 10th 2012 by Bryan Marsh
Including an image with your blog post is one of the best ways to catch the reader's eye, stir their interest and make them start reading. If you are holding back from brightening up your hotel's blog for fear of cost or copyright issues, you'll be plea...
Posted on Sep 7th 2012 by Bryan Marsh
A new study has shown that the photos hotels choose to use in their OTA booking paths have a considerable bearing on click through rates....
Posted on Sep 6th 2012 by Bryan Marsh
If you struggle to memorise that long string of random numbers that makes up your hotel's Google + business page, you'll be pleased to hear that Google is in the process of rolling out shorter, more professional custom URLs to thousands of its users....
Posted on Aug 24th 2012 by Lee Tester
Ever wondered how are bookings missed and not received? Well, email and the internet is unfortunately not 100% foolproof and emails do on occasions get put into spam/junk folders or are simply not received. In the modern day world, you would think that th...
Posted on Aug 24th 2012 by Bryan Marsh
As Facebook, Twitter and Tumblr continue to hog the spotlight, blogging has taken a backseat in the online marketing world. Despite this, blogs remain one of the best ways to improve your website's search ranking, create links, share content and open up t...
Posted on Jul 9th 2012 by Bryan Marsh
Good marketing is all about creating an experience that makes your guests feel like your addressing their specific needs as individuals. When it comes to your email marketing campaign, the most effective way to do this is to personalise your message, and...
Posted on Jul 9th 2012 by Bryan Marsh
Google dominates 87.6% of the search engine market share worldwide, so it goes it without saying that optimising your resort's website to rank highly in Google search results is essential. And where better to find out how to improve your ranking than from...
Posted on Jul 4th 2012 by Lee Tester
We often get asked a lot of questions about how you connect your channel manager to eTourism Online. eTourism Online works with the major & most popular channel managers in the marketplace including Siteminder, Resonline, HiSite, Ezychannel & Update 247....
Posted on Jul 4th 2012 by Bryan Marsh
How many emails do you receive each day? And how many of those do you actually open? When you're scanning your inbox each morning, chances are it's the email subject line that determines which emails you open and which you send straight to your trash can...
Posted on Jun 25th 2012 by Bryan Marsh
You're probably aware by now that blogging is absolutely essential to the success of your online marketing campaign. Without regular fresh content, Google will no longer crawl your site, your search engine ranking will plummet, your social media community...
Posted on Jun 21st 2012 by Lee Tester
Have you heard of the term 'Last Room Availability'?How does that benefit me? Well the simple answer is more online bookings. To achieve this you should have your property management system connected to your channel manager. The concept is that if you hav...
Posted on Jun 21st 2012 by Bryan Marsh
Email marketing campaigns are an effective and affordable way to attract return visitors to your resort's website. Campaign tags help you to analyze the success of each email you send so you can stay on top of your campaign and maximize your return on inv...
Posted on Jun 15th 2012 by Bryan Marsh
Social media may have stolen the limelight in recent years, but email marketing is going nowhere. Although most marketers recognise the ongoing importance of email, certain email best practices, such as Segmentation, have been slow to catch on. Segmentin...